March 19, 2014 /3BL Media/ - St Clare’s School in Handsworth, Birmingham, has taken part in a worldwide initiative designed to inspire and educate children about healthy lifestyles and eating.

The school linked up with Aramark, an international food service company, and volunteering charity, City Year, to host a day of activities on the theme ‘Inspiring kids to be healthy for life’. The aim was to get the school’s children excited by the ideas of healthier lifestyles, better nutrition and taking more exercise, in a day of activities which included physical training, an obstacle course and ‘make your own healthy packed lunch’.

Victoria Revitt, Executive Head Teacher at St Clare’s, said: “I would like to personally thank the whole Aramark team who offered their time today to come to St Clare’s as part of its ‘healthy for life’ global volunteer day. The health and wellbeing of our pupils is paramount and the activities Aramark provided for the children were interactive, insightful and great fun! The day has made a big impact here and I know the pupils have learnt how to make healthier choices in and outside of school.”

Aramark held the event as part of its first Global Volunteer Day on 19 March, which saw more 150 of its employees volunteer to run a fun ‘healthy for life’ activity day at four schools across Great Britain. Other events were held in London, Aberdeen and Hampshire meaning that, in total, around 1,000 children took part.

On the same day, across many of the countries in which Aramark operates, thousands of employees came together to deliver local community projects based on the same theme of ‘Inspiring kids to be healthy for life’. The theme was chosen in recognition of the growing problem of obesity across the world and the need to provide improved awareness of healthier lifestyles. On the same day as the events at St Clare’s School, more than 100 similar community volunteering events took place around the world in locations as diverse as Philadelphia, Santiago, Beijing, Mumbai and Barcelona.

To help make the day in Handsworth happen, Aramark joined up with youth and education charity, City Year UK, which has partnered with St Clare’s School since the beginning of the year. Eight City Year volunteers, aged between 18 and 25, serve full-time from Monday to Thursday in the school as near-peer role models, mentors and tutors. Known as corps members and easily recognisable in their bright red jackets, they support children in and out of the classroom with everything from literacy and numeracy to confidence and behaviour.

Ian Darker-Larkings, Aramark’s Client Relationship Manager who managed events on the day at St Clare’s, said: “What an inspiring and fun time we had at St Clare’s School! It was quite something for us all be part of a unique day, where children across the world find out how they can live more healthy lifestyles. As one of the world’s largest food service companies, serving more than 2 billion meals to customers each year across the globe, we see the importance of educating people of all ages to make healthier choices and we understand our responsibility to help make that happen.”

City Year corps member, Daniel Taylor, said: “As a mentor at St Clare’s, I volunteer with pupils to help them enjoy and make the most of every day they’re in school and this was a very special day. It was fantastic for the children to learn about how to live a healthy life in such a fun and interactive way and to be part of something happening worldwide. They’re going to remember it for a long time!”

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Notes to editors

The concept of Global Volunteer Day is an extension of Aramark’s existing year-round philanthropic and volunteering programme, Aramark Building Community. Since it was introduced in 2008, more than 20,000 Aramark employees around the world have given their time to support community projects which are estimated to have helped up to four million families, whether through improving family health, preparing young people and adults for the world of work, or supporting individuals and families working their way out of poverty.

About Aramark: Aramark (NYSE: ARMK) delivers experiences that enrich and nourish people’s lives through innovative services in food, facilities management, and uniforms. United by a passion to serve, our more than 270,000 employees make a meaningful difference each day for millions of people in 22 countries around the world. Aramark is recognised among the Most Admired Companies by FORTUNE and the World’s Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute. Learn more at www.aramark.com or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

In the UK: Aramark is a market-leading, award-winning food service and facilities management partner to organisations across sectors including business and industry, education, offshore, defence and healthcare. We have thousands of employees throughout the UK, who provide a vast range of services. One of our strengths is tailor-made food and refreshment services, including business dining, employee restaurants, retail facilities and coffee outlets, delivered across the country. We also focus on broader facilities management ranging from hotel services to reception duties, cleaning, maintenance and many more, provided either as stand-alone services or integrated with catering or other offers. www.aramark.co.uk

About City Year UK and its partnership with Aramark: City Year UK’s mission is to galvanise the talent, energy and idealism of young role models to help vulnerable children succeed in school. It recruits 18-25 year olds, known as corps members, to volunteer for a year as mentors and tutors across London and Birmingham.

Corps members serve in schools, full-time, Monday-Thursday. They run breakfast clubs and extra-curricular activities, as well as deliver one-to-one or small group support for children that need most help.

As well as the valuable experience gained volunteering in a school, City Year UK corps members receive one day a week dedicated leadership development training to support their transition into employment after City Year. The leadership development programme is delivered in partnership with City Year UK's corporate sponsors.

Proudly serving as National Leadership Sponsor of City Year in the US, Aramark has also been involved with City Year in the UK since its launch here in 2010. It has sponsored a community engagement team, mentored corps members and hosted skills workshops covering, for example, professional behaviour and networking.

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